I wanted to take a moment and talk about our next big project The Painted Wastelands for 5e. This is something I've always talked about doing and feel now is the time for us to begin. The biggest motivator for me was my recent booth at Phoenix Fan Fusion and GenCon. I had multiple conversations with folks excited about The Painted Wastelands and it would usually go like this:
Me: Finishes excitedly talking about how you can play as a cat. Them: Is this for 5th Edition? Me: No actually, it's for Old School Essentials, which is an updated version of basic and expert D&D.
Then I just watch the light fade from their eyes. It happened a lot.
I get this sentiment. I've never really been a person who is hung up on rules and rulesets. I play Dungeon Crawl Classics, OSE, 5th Edition, Warhammer Horus Heresy (3rd Edition), Trench Crusade, Infinity, Magic the Gathering, Warhammer 40k (11th edition now!) and more. At the end of the day I've literally never said to myself "Wow those are the most amazing rules!" I usually just enjoy playing games with my friends.
For many players in our hobby, I think 5e is a gateway drug into better and more esoteric games. I don't know how many TTRPG players discover and run PirateBorg first and then go "Huh, what's this Dungeons and Dragons?" I think 5e serves an important role in this hobby. For some game groups it may be the only version they play. For others, it is an amuse-bouche before they enjoy a more complex meal of what this hobby has to offer. I want to be apart of that and help pull those players into a greater wider world.
At the end of the day, I'm not selling mechanics (this is why there is no bespoke Painted Wastelands Roleplaying Game rule system, and I have no intention of making one). I'm selling a world. 5e has a lot of interesting tools to get players more engaged and excited about the world. One of my core design realizations is players really care about their characters and their role in the world. Unless a player interacts with or touches something in the setting, it doesn't really matter to them. In the original OSE version, Merch as treasure is how I addressed getting players excited about the weird shows and bands Tim created. 5e has even more dials and options to play with using factions, backgrounds, and subclasses.
Does This Mean Agamemnon Press is Abandoning OSE?
Absolutely not. Writing for OSE is awesome and I love it. I am also in the middle of writing our 3rd Lower Ethereal Hierarchy book The Hundred Year Coast. We will bring that to backerkit as well once it's done. My current plan is to write for OSE first and then to go back and convert previous books to other rules like 5e. I'd love to see The Painted Wastelands full converted to DCC if there's an audience for it.
This project has a lot of cool stuff in it. Besides the two hardback books (Painted Wastelands Campaign Guide and Painted Wastelands Adventurer's Guide) We're also adding new add ons. We've designed a new shirt with the nightmare slayer from the Adventurer's Guide on it. I'm working with a really cool independent company called Ravenwood to make Painted Wastelands dice vaults. These are handmade items made by a small company and made in America and I am excited to show off our prototypes. I have high standards for add ons and I'm so happy I've gotten to link up with Jen and Rob.
If you're interested in our work, feel free to follow our project and get the instant preview. If you pre-register you'll get early access to our project and a 5e adventure + a set of dice. I converted a portion of Strange Tales of the Painted Wastelands to 5e.
Return Backer Reward- The Great Seal of the Bleeding Eye
There are people who have supported me from the beginning. I see their names show up again and again as I put packages together. You've been there for me when this was just a crazy dream. Now Agamemnon Press is growing and building partnerships with fulfillment companies like Gamer's Guild and distributors like Studio 2. We've won ENNIE Awards because of you. To show my gratitude I'm going to give out this item:
This 1.5" pin is something I've wanted to hand out for a while. When I go to conventions I'm always deeply humbled by the people and families who support my work or come back to my booth to see what new things we have. If you're a return backer and back the Painted Wastelands 5e you get one of these pins. They are not available for sale, they can only be earned through loyalty and service. If you see me at a convention and you've backed my stuff before, tell me so I can hand you one of these.
